A Microsoft system outage affected users in South Africa and the United Kingdom on Thursday.
UPDATE: Microsoft issued an update on the system outage. See below.
What caused the Microsoft system outage?
The root of the recent Microsoft system outage lies in an issue identified within the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region, impacting users’ access to various Microsoft 365 services, the tech company noted in a statement.
The disruption, detailed under the service incident number SI MO737187 in the admin centre, has predominantly affected users in South Africa and the United Kingdom.
Reports from Down Detector indicate that the majority of issues encountered by users revolve around Outlook (72%), server connections (20%), and website access (8%).
Users from the affected regions were still experiencing issues when this article was published:
The company’s communication channels have been actively updating users and administrators about the status of the outage and the steps being taken to restore normal service.
In the latest update, Microsoft stated:
“We’ve identified a networking issue within the region and are redirecting traffic to mitigate impact.”
With the Admin Centre inaccessible, users have been advised to follow the Microsoft365 Status page on X (formerly Twitter) for live updates.
The precise cause of the disruption has yet to be fully disclosed.
This is a developing story.